Kail-ahticbeeper



B. B. BETTS. RAIL ANTICREEPER.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 6. 19:5.

L1 9mm.

Patented Aug, 22, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET' l i.. w fx/M B. B.' BEUS,

RAIL ANTICREEPER.

APPL'ICATION FILED MAR. 6. |916.

RAIL-ANTICREEPER risiamo.

Specification of Letters Patent. Pal-,eurent Aug, 22., ifllti.

` Application filed March 6, 1916. Serial No. 82,370.

To all whom t may concern: y

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN B. Bnrrs, a citizen of the United States, and resident of St. Louis, Missouri, haveinvented 0er-,l

tain neiY and useful Improvements in` Rail- Anticreepers, of which the following is a specification containing a. full, clear,` and exact description, reference being had to the accon'ipanying drawings, forming a part hereof.-

My invention relates to improvements in rail .anti-Creepers,- and is directed to that `type having an element which is clamped to` the rail base, and an element for engagement with a. tie, and my object is to construct a simple, inexpensive, durable and efficient lmeans which will adapt 'itself to rails of diil'erent dimensions and so ,designed to prevent railvcree iino' and is oil such nature as 'f gwhich are shown only ragmentarily, Fig. 2 -is an end view 'of a rail shown in section to automatically tighten itseltl upon the rail in the event of creeping.

lVitlntlie above and other objects, which will hereinafter be made clear, my improve- "ment consists in the novel construction and arrangement of parts which are hereinafter fully, clearly and concisely set forth, pointed -out in my claims,- and illustrated by .the

accompanying drawings, yin which- Figure 1 is a plan ci my improved device showing its relationship with a rail and tie in transverse section; Fig. 4L is a sectional plan of the device showing it in a position other than a right angle, to a rail which is shown in section, to illustrate its adaptability to rail bases of a lesser width than the lateral spacing ot the rail base engaging elements of the device; Fig. 5 is a detail scctional elevation .of the rail base and the device taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3; and Fig. 6 is a detail perspective of the Wedge.

Referringby numerals to the accompanying drawings, 6 designates a tie or sleeper arranged for the support in a common manner. ofpthewrail 7 which is rof'ordinary constructioiipand having the usual base anges 8 and 9.

10 designates the body portion of the device of my invention which is preferably of oblong shape and lwhose upper surface is plane.Y y,

At the one end of the body portion l0 there is formed an integral j aw 11, the back wall 12 of which rises'substantially at right angles to the body 10nbut as shown in Fig. 4 is preferably convexed or curvilinear transversely of the jaw, the overhanging wall 13 of which, together with the plane upper face of the body 10, are shaped to conform with a rail base` flange, that is the said overhang ing wall 13 of the jaw 11 is inclined relative to the horizontal inwardly and upwardly with respect to the jaw, and in order to lend rigidity to this jaw, I l`form integrally therewith the strengthening ribsl-t paralleh ing the'niajor axis of the device and a rib 15 extending between the ribs 14 located` in a plane approximating the plane of the body 10.

Formed integrally with the body 10 and extending laterally from the jaw 11 is a tie engaging bracket "or element 16.-

Arising from thebody 10 in opposition to' the back wall 12 of the jaw 11 and spaced therefrom a distance approximating an average rail base width', is a` wall 17 whichis provided with a curvilinear face extending at right angles to the body 10 ot' the device and inclined upwardly and away with rcspect to the opposing back wall 12 of the jaw 11. That is, the wall 17 and the back wall 12 present convex faces to the edges ot the rail base iianges 8 and 9. The vertical inclination of thc wall 17 serves the double function of adapting the device to rail bases of different widths, and. providing a wedge action when the rail is seated to assist the clamping of the device to the rail base.

Extending laterally `from the top of the wall 17 and thence upwardly and'reversely to overlie the said wall 17, and a considerable portion of the rail base liange 9, is a j aw 18, which is ot' much greater dimensions than the jaw 11, both vertically and transversely, whereby to receive between its up- `permost overlapping portion andthe rail base flange, a wedge 19, aswell as to alord greater superficial varea and strength, than the jaw 1 1. It is to be noted here that the i' and the jaw 18, the forward margin of the body portion 10 lying next adjacent the jaw 18 is likewise increased in width or transverse dimensions over the remainder of the body. Like the jaw 11, the'jaw 18 is provided with strengthening ribs 2O which extend from its free end around the bight underneath the jaw and merge into the body of the device at its approximate longitudinal center.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 3 the one margin 21 of the wedge andthe bight 22 of the jaw 18 are arcuate in cross section, and as shown by 'dotted lines in Fig. 1 the arcuated margin 21 of the wedge and the bight 22 of theA wedge is chamfered, asv shown in Fig. 5 at 24 and in order to provide drainage between the wedge and the upper surface ol the rail y base flange, I prefer to construct the bottom 25 as shown in M face of the wedge with an undulate surface Iig. 5.

Arising from the rear end ofthe wedge, as clearly shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 5, is an integral projection extending above the plane of the upper face of the wedge forming a stop 26 which together with the jaw 18 forms a means for limiting the movement or insertion of the wedge in one direction relative to the jaw.

At or nearthe end of the wedge, opposite the` stop 26, adjacent the margin of the wedge opposite the arcuated portion 21, and in the upper face of the wedge there is a depression 27, forming a shoulderI 28 are ranged to be engaged by a lug 29 formedv in- 4tegral with the jaw 18 at its side opposite the wedge entering side, and which lug is struck or depressed to seat to the rear of the j shoulder 28 formed by the depression 27,

'whereby to prevent retrograde movement of thev Wedge.-

hanging margin of the portion 13 of the jaw 11, and the'arcuated bight of the jaw 18, areV It is to be observed that the inner overlaterally spaced a distance somewhat greater 'than the width of the rail lbase whereby to permit of the placing of the device upon a A rail by placing'its body under the base of the rail, its one flange-in the jaw 18, and

. then moving the entire device until the Hangs 8 is'seated in the jaw 11 and the flange 9 is/ resting upon the vertically inclined wall 17. After the device has thus been placed upon the rail, it is moved to a `position with the bracket .16 engaging an adjacent tie. y

1f the rail base is of a lesser width than the lateral spacing of the walls 12 and-17, the entire device is moved int-o' Aangular relationship with the rail as shown in Fig; 4 to such a position wherein f the opposing walls l2 and 17 will engage thel sides of the rail base flanges, it being -uifiderstood of course, in this connection, that the entire devicel must bemoved to a position with the bracket 16 engaging the tie.

Whether the device be at right angles or A 9 and the'jaw 18, the chamfer 24 of the wedge serving to fully draw the wall 17 against the edge ot' the rail base flange, after which the wedge is forced into its full seated position with its stop 26 abutting the jaw 18. It will be apparent that the movement of the wedge as just described, by reason of its longitudinal taper forces the device laterally o the rail, and thus exerts compression between .the walls 12 and 17, and jaws 1l and 18, and also by vreason of the taper of the rail base and wedge exerts compression vertically between the jaw 18 and the body portion 10. -After the wedge has thus been fully seated and the device firmly clamped to the rail base, the operator strikes the lug 29 and moves it to a position behind the shoulder 28 of the wedge thus locking it in position.

By reason of the taper of therail base, it

i will be apparent that any movement of the further tightening of the wedge in its seat between the rail and the jaw 18.

By reason of the arcuated bight of the jaw 18, and a vcorrespondingly -formed margin of the wedge, it will be apparent that the same wedge may be advantageously used on rail, base flanges of different vertical dimensions within a reasonable range, and that wedges of varying sizes may be used with the samedevice on rail bases whose vertical dimnsions are outside of the range just recite Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new therein and desire to secure by Letters-Patent of the United/Sims, therefor is:

1. A rail anti-crceper comprising opposing walls for engagement with opposite margins of the rail base, one of which Walls is inclined relative to the vertical, and means for moving the anti-Creeper vertically relativeto a rail vwhereby to wedge the rail base between said opposing walls.

2. A rail anti-Creeper, comprising a pair of oppositely disposed walls for engagement with the side margins of a rail base,

1 'said walls being curvilinear from end to end whereby to adapt the device to diiferent widths of rail bases, one of said Walls being inclined relative to the vertical, and means for moving the device vertically-relative to the rail, whereby to clamp the device to the rail between said opposing walls.

3. Arail anti-Creeper, comprisingopposing walls for engagement with opposite margins. of the rail base, one of which walls is inclined relative to the vertical, means for moving the anti-creeper vertically relative to a rail whereby to Wedge the rail base between said opposing walls, and an element arranged to engage a fixed object on the road bed.

y4. A rail anti-creeper, comprising a pair 'of oppositely disposed walls for engagement with the side margins of a rail base, said walls being curvilinear from end'to end whereby to adapt the device to different widths of rail bases, one of said walls being inclined relative to ythe vertical, ,means for moving the device vertically relative to the rail, whereby to clamp the device to the rail between said. opposing walls, and an element arranged to engage a fixed object on the road bed.

5. A rail anti-creeper, comprising a body portion, an integral jaw at one end of said body portion, a vertically inclined wall arising4 from and integral with the body portion in opposition to the back Wall of said jaw, i

a ,Second gaw integrally lformed with said body portion and overhanging said vertically inclined wall, and a wedge for co-action with said last mentioned j aw for moving the device both vertically and laterally relative to the rail.

, 6.v A rail anti-creeper, comprising a body portion, an integral jaw at one end of said body portion, a vertically `inclined wall arising from and integral with the body portion in opposition to the back wall of said j aw7 a second .jaw integrally formed with said body portion and overhangng said vertically'inclined wall, a wedge for co-action with said last mentioned jaw for moving the device both vertically and laterally relative to the rail, and integral means for securing the wedge immovably relative tothe jaw.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to thisspecification, in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

, BENJAMIN B. BETTS.

Witnesses: Y

R. G. ORWIG, vA. C. KiUlrrz. 

